Aflatoxins in dates and dates products

A total of 153 samples of dates and dates products (date cookies, date cake and date halva) from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan were evaluated for aflatoxins (AFs) using HPLC equipped with fluorescence detection. Thirty eight out of 96 samples (39.6%) of different date varieties and 18 out of 57 (31.6%) samples of date products contained AFs. The total mean level of AFs ranged between 2.90 to 4.96 μg/kg and 2.76 to 4.80 μg/kg in dates and dates products, respectively. About 16 and 20 samples of dates were found above the permissible level for AFB1 and total AFs, respectively (i.e. 2 μg/kg, 4 μg/kg). Furthermore, two samples of date's cookies and one sample of date cake were found above the level of AFB1 and total AFs and three and five samples of date halva were found above the recommended limit for AFB1 and total AFs, respectively. The high occurrence of AFs may cause health hazards and limit exports

Aflatoxin M1 in milk from urban and rural farmhouses of Punjab, Pakistan

Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) was determined in 107 milk samples collected from urban and rural farmhouses from Punjab, Pakistan, by HPLC with fluorescence detection. An incidence rate of 64% (38/59) in milk samples from urban farmhouses was found, with a mean concentration of 0.064 ± 0.023 μg L−1. In rural samples about 52% (25/48) of milk samples were contaminated with AFM1, with a mean of 0.04 ± 0.034 μg L−1. About 42% of milk samples from urban and 27% from rural farmhouses were well above the limit permitted by the European Union (EU). However, only 15% and 8% of milk samples from urban and rural farmhouses, respectively, exceeded the limit of USDA/Codex regulations. The results showed that the contamination of milk with AFM1 from Punjab, Pakistan, when compared with Codex limit is present and needs continuous monitoring. The awareness and education among dairy farmers on the potential health risks associated with aflatoxins should be communicated

Natural occurrence of aflatoxin B1 and aflatoxin M1 in “halva” and its ingredients.

A total 431 samples including halva (56), pistachio (71), almond (63), semolina (69), cardamom (34), raisins (46), halva puri (39) and wheat powder (53) were analyzed using HPLC equipped with florescence detector. The results have shown that 32 (57%) samples of halva, 45 (63%) pistachio, 43 (68%) almond, 46 (67%) semolina, 21 (62%) cardamom, 19 (41%) raisins, 21 (54%) halva puri and 22 (42%) of wheat powder samples were found contaminated with AFB1, and 11 (20%), 23 (32%), 34 (54%), 12 (17%), 11 (32%), 7 (15%), 9 (23%) and 11 (21%) samples, respectively were above the European Union permissible limit (2 μg/kg). The results have shown that 20 (59%) samples of halva that contained milk were found contaminated with AFM1 and 3 (9%) samples were found above the recommended limit for AFM1 i.e. 0.05 μg/kg. Limit of detection (LOD) and Limit of quantification (LOQ) for AFB1 and AFM1 were 0.04 μg/kg, 0.12 μg/kg, and 0.004 μg/L, 0.012 μg/L, respectively

Assessment of aflatoxins, ochratoxin A and zearalenone in breakfast cereals

Aflatoxins (AFs), ochratoxin A (OTA) and zearalenone (ZEN) were analysed in 237 breakfast cereal samples collected from central areas of Punjab, Pakistan. According to the results, 41% of the samples were found contaminated with AFs, out of which 16% and 8% samples were found to be above the European Union (EU) maximum content for AFB1 and total AFs, respectively. About 48% samples were found contaminated with OTA and 30% samples were found to be above the EU maximum content. The results have shown that 53% samples of breakfast cereals were found contaminated with ZEN and 8% samples were found to be above the permissible limit of EU. The highest mean level of AFB1 and total AFs were found in semolina i.e. 3.60 and 4.55 μg/kg, respectively. Similarly, semolina was the highest contaminated breakfast cereal for OTA (3.90 μg/kg), while cornflakes (brand B) was found highest contaminated with ZEN (13.45 μg/kg)

Detection of aflatoxins and zearalenone contamination in wheat derived products

In present study the natural occurrence of aflatoxins (AFs) and zearalenone (ZEN) has determined in 147 samples of wheat derived products i.e. spaghetti (25), noodles (34), macaroni (29), lasagne (37), and bucatini (22), collected from major districts of Punjab, Pakistan. The mean of AFs was found 9.12 in spaghetti, 7.35 in noodles, 5.91 in macaroni, 8.39 in lasagne, and 9.61 μg/kg in bucatini and 28, 18, 17, 22 and 27% of samples were found above the European Union's legal limit (i.e. 4 μg/kg) for total AFs, respectively. However, mean value of ZEN was found 7.36 in spaghetti, 6.80 in noodles, 4.98 in macaroni, 6.90 in lasagne, and 8.89 μg/kg in bucatini samples and 16, 15, 21, 19 and 36% of samples were found to be above the recommended limit. The study urged the need to focus more comprehensive survey for these toxins in wheat derived products from Punjab, Pakistan

Variation of aflatoxin M1 contamination in milk and milk products collected during winter and summer seasons

Total 221 samples of milk and milk products were collected during winter (November 2011–February 2012) and 212 samples were collected during summer (May–August 2012) from central areas of Punjab, Pakistan. The samples were analyzed for the presence of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) with a validated HPLC method equipped with florescence detector. The results revealed that from winter season almost 45% samples of milk and milk products were found to be contaminated with AFM1 i.e. 40% of raw milk, 51% of UHT milk, 37% of yogurt, 60% of butter and 43% of ice cream samples and 27, 24, 25, 34 and 17% of samples were found above the recommended limit for AFM1, respectively. However, from summer season 32% samples of milk and milk products were found to be contaminated i.e. 36% of raw milk, 31% of UHT milk, 29% of yogurt, 40% of butter and 24% of ice cream and 23, 23, 18, 20 and 5% of samples were found above the permissible limit for AFM1, respectively. The levels of contamination in winter milk and milk product samples were significantly higher (α ≤ 0.05) than in summer season. The occurrence of AFM1 in milk and milk products were higher, demanding to implement strict regulations and also urged the need for continuous monitoring of milk and milk products in order to minimize the health hazards

US Mass Media and Image of Afghanistan: Portrayal of Afghanistan by Newsweek and Time

The study aims at investigating as how Afghanistan is being represented and portrayed in two leading US magazines - Newsweek and Time. Prefatory pages of the paper shed some light on the growth of economy and media in Afghanistan followed by a brief overview of relations between the US and Afghanistan during the last decade. The contents of twenty leading articles of Newsweek and Time were analyzed which clearly depicts that the proportion of negative coverage (57.08%) was greater than the positive coverage (6.08%). Newsweek and Time mainly represented Afghanistan as an abode of Taliban and extremism, penitentiary for women, a narcotics den, a centre for Islamization, and a safe haven for AlQaida and Usama Bin Laden, to include a few.&nbsp

A limited survey of aflatoxins and zearalenone in feed and feed ingredients from Pakistan

This work presents current information on the presence of aflatoxins (AFs) and zearalenone (ZEN) in feed and feed ingredients from Punjab, Pakistan. The 105 samples tested were concentrated feed, i.e., cotton seed meal (18 samples) and soybean meal (14), and feed ingredients, i.e., crushed corn (17), crushed wheat (15), barley (17). and poultry feed (24). Samples were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography equipped with a fluorescence detector. Analysis revealed that 69 of 105 samples were contaminated with AFs, and the highest mean concentrations of AFB1 (6.20 μg/kg) and total AFs (9.30 μg/kg) were found in poultry feed samples. The mean total AF concentrations ranged from the limit of quantification to 165.5 μg/kg. However, 75 of the 105 samples were positive for ZEN. The highest mean concentration (19.45 μg/kg) was found in poultry feed samples. The mean ZEN concentrations were 0.15 to 145.30 μg/kg. The prevalence of AFs and ZEN was high in feed and feed ingredients and needs urgent attention

DNA Barcoding: Amplification and sequence analysis of rbcl and matK genome regions in three divergent plant species

Background: DNA barcoding is a novel method of species identification based on nucleotide diversity of conserved sequences. The establishment and refining of plant DNA barcoding systems is more challenging due to high genetic diversity among different species. Therefore, targeting the conserved nuclear transcribed regions would be more reliable for plant scientists to reveal genetic diversity, species discrimination and phylogeny.Methods: In this study, we amplified and sequenced the chloroplast DNA regions (matk+rbcl) of Solanum nigrum, Euphorbia helioscopia and Dalbergia sissoo to study the functional annotation, homology modeling and sequence analysis to allow a more efficient utilization of these sequences among different plant species. These three species represent three families; Solanaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Fabaceae respectively. Biological sequence homology and divergence of amplified sequences was studied using Basic Local Alignment Tool (BLAST).Results: Both primers (matk+rbcl) showed good amplification in three species. The sequenced regions reveled conserved genome information for future identification of different medicinal plants belonging to these species. The amplified conserved barcodes revealed different levels of biological homology after sequence analysis. The results clearly showed that the use of these conserved DNA sequences as barcode primers would be an accurate way for species identification and discrimination.Conclusion: The amplification and sequencing of conserved genome regions identified a novel sequence of matK in native species of Solanum nigrum. The findings of the study would be applicable in medicinal industry to establish DNA based identification of different medicinal plant species to monitor adulteration

Aflatoxin M1 in milk and dairy products, occurrence and recent challenges: a review

Background Milk is a highly nutritious food, and it is a source of necessary macro- and micronutrients for the growth, development and maintenance of human health. However, it may also be a source of natural food contaminants that may cause disease. The presence of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in milk and dairy products throughout the world has been known since twenty to thirty ago. Milk and dairy products contamination with aflatoxin M1 is important problem worldwide especially for developing countries for the last ten to twenty years. Scope and Approach The presence of this mycotoxin in these products is important issue, especially for children and infants, who are more susceptible than adults. This review provides information regarding the occurrence of AFM1 in milk and dairy products in many regions of the world, its stability during processing and some reduction strategies. In this review the toxicity, occurrence of AFM1 in milk and dairy products (preferably for the last 5 years), regulations, strategies for its reduction, latest developments in detection methodologies and future challenges are described. Key Findings and Conclusions Strict regulations and adapting good storage practices in developed countries have minimized the contamination of AFM1 in milk and dairy products. The current advancements in analytical techniques have helped the law enforcement agencies to implement strict regulations. Furthermore, the improvement in analytical facility and increasing the awareness related to the health effects of AFM1 in milk and dairy products could minimize its occurrence level in developing countries